Child of War
by wbss21
Summary: Thor/Avengers AU: While out for his daily run, Steve Rogers stumbles across Loki. There's only one glaring difference to how the Captain remembers the god of Mischief and how he appears now. Loki doesn't look like he can be older than six or seven years of age, nor can Steve ignore the utter terror he sees in the boys eyes.
1. Chapter 1

**Child of War**

**Chapter 1: **

Steve stands from the fountain, swiping the back of his hand against his chin to wipe the excess water away.

It's hot today, and as he tilts his face towards the sky, his eyes squint against the harsh glare of the mid-noon sun.

Normally, he would have already gotten his morning run out of the way, but Fury had called an emergency meeting with him and the rest of the team earlier, another HYDRA cell located underground the bureau of Queens this time. A little too close for comfort, for Steve's tastes.

It had been a relatively simple mission. In the end, all it had taken was him and Nat going in and wiping the pocket clean. There'd been only ten HYDRA agents involved, and they'd all been taken into custody, no real fuss.

All pretty standard and boring.

Steve sighs, bringing his gaze back down from the sky and glancing around.

Human traffic is pretty thick now, and he's glad he got his run over with. It's always a hassle having to navigate through the crowds on the streets.

He almost wishes something would happen, though he scolds himself a moment later, knowing the foolery behind such a sentiment.

It's better when it's quiet.

He should be thankful things have been going so smoothly, and the Avengers haven't been all that needed lately.

It's just… boring.

Steve knows what it is.

He feels directionless lately.

No, not lately.

Since he woke up, really.

Like whatever purpose… whatever _meaning_had been driving him before is gone.

Like now he's just waiting for someone to tell him what to do, and something about it just doesn't sit right.

Steve hasn't ever taken to receiving orders and following them blindly.

He isn't what anyone would call a good solider.

This latest fiasco with SHIELD has only driven home to him further the wisdom of his own attitude.

Only a fool acts without thinking.

He turns from the water fountain, ready to head home to his small apartment, trying to brush away the lately increasing glumness of his thoughts.

His eyes go wide in momentary shock when something comes crashing into his legs, hard and solid and swift.

He steps back, blinking, looking down.

The last thing he expects to see is a child, a _tiny_ child, sprawled unceremoniously upon his back, staring up at him, wide eyed and frightened.

The boy can't be older than five or six, if even, Steve thinks. He's so _small_.

Though if this is the first thing he notices, what next catches his eye is just how very _unusual_ the child looks.

Skin so pale white, it seems almost glowing, and short, cropped hair, so black it might as well be blue.

Eyes a verdant, _bright_ green, bleeding out almost pale round the rims of his irises, shining and wet with thick tears, streaming down flushed cheeks. All of this set against a thin, gaunt face, cheek bones sharper than one would normally ever see in someone so young, long nose and thin lips and…

Steve's eyes go wider still, his breathe catching in his throat, because suddenly he _knows_this kid. Suddenly he recognizes him.

Would anywhere.

Even if it's the same face something like 18 or 19 years younger.

"Loki?" He stutters out, hardly believing his own voice.

It only registers to him a moment after that the boy is naked, and filthy, and trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.

The kid doesn't say anything, just staring up at him with the same, terrified expression.

And a second later, the boy is back up on his feet, and hurtling past him so fast, Steve can barely follow the movement.

He turns, calling after him.

He's just about to take off in a run to follow.

The boy is fast, but Steve knows he's faster, and if he's right, if that really _is_Loki, however impossible or improbable as that may be, he can't just…

He's stopped when he hears a loud ruckus behind him, the whoops and hollers of a group of what sounds like teenagers, and turning back around, he sees five of them, probably between fifteen and seventeen, running from the same direction the little boy had come from.

He picks up on their words an instant later. They're taunting, screaming threats and laughing wildly, and it dawns quick and hard on Steve that it's the boy, that it's Loki they're after.

He remembers the terrified expression across the kid's face.

And Steve doesn't even think, turning back around, eyes searching frantically for him.

He feels his heart stutter to a lurching halt in his chest when he spots him, and sees him running straight for the heavily trafficked street.

"NO!" He cries, lungs seeming to burst with the effort.

And then he's off, sprinting after the boy like it's his own life that depends upon it.

But it's too late. He can already see that before he's covered even half the distance between them.

The child rushes into the street without even looking, and it's like watching a nightmare unfold before his very eyes, Steve freezing, his hands coming to his head, fingers twisting into his short hair.

He can feel his face contort in horror and dismay as, moments later, the inevitable happens, and the boy is struck head on by a rushing vehicle going what must have been at least 40 mph.

There is the deafening sound of screeching tires on pavement, and terrified screams, but all Steve can see, all he is aware of in those eternal seconds is the fragile, tiny body which goes sailing through the air.

Watching as it descends slowly with gravity, and comes crashing against the blacktop of the road, skidding and rolling seeming unendingly before, at last, coming to a stop what must be fifteen or twenty feet away.

The kid doesn't move, and Steve thinks he's never felt this kind of fear in his life.

Not through the war. Not through infiltrating HYDRA's base of operations. Not through facing off against the Red Skull, or crashing that plane into the frozen waters.

Not through an alien invasion, or waking up in a world completely changed.

Time seems not to move for a moment, suspended there and horrible.

And then Steve's brain catches up with him, and he's running.

No, he's _flying_, shoving past people and screaming at them to move.

People are just _standing_ there, staring, he knows, in shock. But something about it makes rage boil up in him in a way he can't even begin to find the words to express, and he has no time or care at this point for niceties or playing the good, all American boy.

He moves as fast as he can, and still it isn't nearly fast enough.

"Out of the way!" He shouts at the circle of people which has begun to form around the prone body of the child, and the command in his voice brooks no argument, the onlookers parting to let him through without question.

He doesn't know if they recognize who he is or not.

Right now, he doesn't care.

He comes skidding to a halt at the boy's side, and without thought, he drops to his knees, his hands reaching out, trembling, he notices, as they hover uncertainly above the motionless frame.

Loki… he, he thinks it's Loki, he's almost _sure_, is scrapped and bruised, though nothing near as bad as what Steve had imagined would be the case after taking such a severe blow. The worst of it, it seems, is a long gash running along the edge of his hairline, bleeding sluggishly, and some nasty looking abrasions along his face and, of course, the palms of his hands, as well as his elbows and knees.

But Steve can see his chest rising and falling with breath, and he hears himself exhale loudly in almost painful relief.

Slowly, he reaches down, pressing his fingers to the boy's pulse point just to be sure, and is rewarded with a steady, if faint, beat.

And so he slips his hand carefully and as gently as he can managed beneath the child's head, feeling for fractures along the way before slipping his palm to cradle the boy's neck.

Nothing feels broken.

Steve can hardly believe it.

From the hit the kid took, he should be _dead_.

And then he remembers how basically indestructible Thor is.

And if Loki's his brother…

Glancing down the road where the accident happened, Steve sees the car that hit the boy, sitting there, its front fender completely smashed in, steam rising from under the hood.

"Oh God, is he dead?" He hears someone stammer.

"I called an ambulance." Another person announces.

"Where'd he come from? Where are his parents?"

Steve barely hears them.

He looks back down at the boy, naked and dirty and skin torn up.

If Fury hears about this…

If the rest of his team does…

What are they going to do?

He's just a kid, no matter who he is, or what he's done, he… he's just a kid.

Steve remembers the terrified look on his face when he'd crashed into him, staring up with wide, lost eyes.

He doesn't think he's ever seen such raw, consuming panic. Such awful confusion.

None of that's going to matter to Fury. All he's going to know is this is Loki, an alien war criminal who's supposed to be locked away on another planet.

He'll want to shove him into a cell, Steve knows. Want to know how he escaped. What he's doing here, back on Earth. What he's planning.

He knows Fury is far from being incapable of grim tactics in acquiring desired information.

That's a fancy way of knowing if he has to, child or not, Fury will torture Loki to get what he wants.

Steve can't let that happen.

Without further thought, checking him over quickly but thoroughly, making sure nothing on the boy is broken, he gets an arm underneath the kid's knobby knees, his other arm slipping across the backs of his shoulders, and in one smooth motion, he stands up with him.

He's heavier than he looks. Steve has to guess he must be 80 or 90 pounds, but he looks like he can't weight more than 30 or 40. But then he remembers Thor mentioning something about the Aesir having higher density tissue than a normal human, and he guesses that must play a part in why they're so tough.

He thanks whatever powers may be out there now for that fact.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Someone cries indignantly. "You shouldn't be moving him like that!"

Steve turns, holding Loki to his chest, letting the back of his small head rest on his bicep.

The teenager's who'd been chasing him are gone. Obviously scared off when they saw what had resulted from their cruelty.

"Official Avengers business ma'me." He states, applying his best, authoritative voice. "I'm Captain America. I'll get this boy the help he needs."

And that's all it takes.

Everyone backs off, not even questioning as he carries the unconscious form from the scene.

He has no idea what he's going to do. Fears he may even regret it.

Right now, all he knows is he's got to get Loki off of the streets, and his apartment is the nearest and fastest option he has available to him to do that.

All the rest of it, he'll work out when the times comes.

/

**AN: So, I basically wrote this little thing a few months back and never posted it. Thought I'd do so now, since I've had some ideas swirling in my head about it. I know it's been done a zillion times, this particular trope. But, then, all my stories use overdone tropes, lol. **

**Let me know what you think! If people like it, I'll continue it, along with my other thousand projects. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

Already, Steve's beginning to question the validity of his decision to bring the child back to his apartment, as it grows more readily apparent that he isn't at all prepared to deal with this kind of… situation.

The first issue he'd encountered had been arriving at his complex and realizing he was going to have to sneak the boy in without anyone noticing.

That nixed going through the front entrance and up the stairwell, as he normally would.

He'd opted instead to use the fire escape, out back. A simple enough task.

Despite being heavier than he'd appeared, Loki wasn't any kind of real burden upon Steve's enhanced frame, and he'd easily been able to cradle the kid against his chest and haul himself up the metal grating of the escape, up to his floor.

Luckily, he hadn't left his window locked, and he'd been able to side it open and step through, making sure not to knock Loki's head or feet against the frame as he'd done so.

From there, he'd been set on getting the child cleaned up, whatever wounds he'd suffered washed out and properly bandaged and wrapped, and hopefully then some place comfortable and safe to rest.

He'd wondered if he shouldn't have brought Loki straight to a hospital, worry still weighing heavy on him about the boy's physical state. That hit he'd taken…

But he knew to do so would only draw SHIELD's attention. That they'd be all over the situation in a matter of hours, if not minutes. That was assuming they weren't already aware. Steve realizes in retrospect that he hadn't exactly been subtle in the way he'd swept in and whisked Loki away.

Even if SHIELD weren't yet aware of who the child was that Steve had rescued, they very likely knew such a rescue had occurred, and, if indeed they did, they'd come calling eventually, asking questions.

He'd brought Loki's still unconscious form to his own room, laying him out on the bed, making sure his head was well supported upon a firm pillow, before rushing off to gather supplies.

A large bowl of warm water, clean washcloths, antiseptic wipes and gauze bandaging and surgical tape.

It was as he'd been cleaning Loki up, and in all the fear and panic of before, getting for the first time a really good look at him, that Steve began to notice just how poor the boy's condition was, beyond the fact that he'd been hit by a car going 40.

He was _awfully_ small. Something Steve had noticed before. But up close and paying attention, Loki looked… well, almost stunted. He stood just barely taller than Steve's knees, and he was painfully, even frighteningly thin, ribs prominent and arms and legs like strings. Like he'd been starved.

Though there was also to the boy a definition of muscle unnatural to one so young, and it made Steve wonder if he wasn't in fact older than what he'd initially thought.

It was hard for Steve to say, given Loki wasn't at all human. He had to keep reminding himself of that. The kid may look it, but he wasn't. He wasn't even the same species as Thor, now that he was remembering the Asgardian Prince telling them all that Loki had been adopted, from a race called the Jotnar. A race of giants, Thor had said, though there hadn't been anything particularly "giant" about Loki.

And now, well, Loki was so small, Steve might even call him sickly.

And that thought had conjured up unwanted memories of his own youth. Of always being so fragile and sick, most days he couldn't even make it outside to play.

Further unsettling had been the obvious signs of struggle.

Loki's small knuckles had been split open and bleeding sluggishly, and his nails torn and caked under with blood.

Steve had thought at first the damage had been wrought by his being dragged across the pavement. But further inspection more bore the look of someone who had lashed out in defense of himself. Damaged suffered from thrown punches and scratching.

Steve had recalled the boys chasing Loki. Recalled the terror in Loki's eyes when he'd run into him, and the threatening taunts of the group of teenagers.

It all worked to paint a grim, upsetting picture in the captain's mind.

That, along with the boy's apparently starved condition, led Steve to wondering just how long Loki had been like this, and how long he'd been out there, on the street, alone and without shelter or clothes.

Clothes, in fact, were currently Steve's main dilemma, and what was causing him his second thoughts.

He'd realized, when he'd finally gotten Loki cleaned and bandaged up, that he didn't in fact have any clothes that would fit the child

But he couldn't leave him here naked either, and he was currently worried about leaving the kid alone. It wasn't at all an ideal time to go out shopping.

And so he'd settled on grabbing up one of his old, ratty t-shirts and carefully maneuvering Loki into it.

The thing looks absurd on the boy, Steve knows. Hanging completely off one side of his shoulders, exposing his collarbone, the hem reaching down past the kid's ankles, the short sleeves covering half his entire arms. It's too big by what must be fifteen plus sizes, but it's the best Steve can do for now.

And now, Steve thinks, all he can really do is settle in and wait.

He has no idea what's going to happen when Loki wakes up.

If he's half as scared and confused as he'd been back out there, then the captain knows he's going to have a problem.

And then there's Thor.

Damn.

Steve hasn't seen him in a few weeks, and he doesn't know when his teammate is going to be coming back.

No one has any real control over Thor's movements. Nobody is foolish enough to try and exert such control. Not even Nick.

Steve can only pray the Asgardian Prince gets back soon.

If there's anyone he needs to tell about all of this, it's him.

/

Steve snaps awake with a start, sitting up fast, eyes wide and chest heaving.

He'd been dreaming again, of the war. Of being on that plane, knowing he had no choice but to put it down, put it in the water.

Heard that conversation again. What he'd been sure then would be the last time he ever spoke to Peggy…

He shakes his head, rubbing a hand roughly over his face, trying to shove the images from his mind. To shove the feelings away.

It takes him a few, long seconds to realize that the light around him has grown dimmer, the room nearly dark with the rapidly setting sun.

He must have fallen asleep, he thinks. Must have been asleep for the past several hours.

And then suddenly he remembers, going for a run, turning to head back to his apartment, the little boy… Loki…

Steve rockets to his feet, suddenly, painfully aware that the boy isn't asleep on the bed anymore, as he'd last left him.

The captain turns in a circle, eyes searching frantically about the room, looking for any sign of the kid.

A slow, stifling panic starts to rise from the pit of his stomach, an endless stream of worst case scenarios running through his head.

What if SHIELD had come and taken him away somehow? What if someone else did? What if Loki had run away? What if Loki had set the whole thing up?! Didn't Thor say something about him being a shape-shifter? Christ! Why hadn't he thought of that before?

But no, no… Loki had been so terrified, and he'd been out cold when Steve brought him here, bruised and battered and clearly suffering…

His panic is just starting to reach a crescendo when he suddenly hears it.

A loud clattering from beyond the room, something crashing against the floor.

Steve is out the door in an instant, ears sharp and eyes peeled as noise continues to sound loudly from what seems like the kitchen, jangling and ringing obnoxiously.

He's careful as he makes his way down the short hallway, unsure of what's going on and having enough experience to know the foolery of bursting onto a scene ignorant and unprepared.

As he nears the kitchen, the clatter continues, focusing into what sounds like silverware skittering around the tiled floor. Closer still, and Steve can make out what sounds almost like quiet whimpers.

Whatever worry he'd previously felt melts quickly away, though still he's careful as he rounds the corner, pressing himself against the wall and turning his head slowly past the kitchen's threshold.

And there he finds Loki, still very much a child, stood in the center of the space.

Surrounding him is what looks like, as Steve had suspected, every single piece of silverware he owns. Forks, spoons, knives…

Scattered farther from him are the overturned drawers which had previously held the utensils, and about those, spilt boxes of various different foods. Crackers, cookies, chips, rice, dried beans and pasta.

The place looks like a bomb had gone off in it.

Steve drags his eyes back to Loki then, and he notices, recovering from his initial shock, the near frantic, confused and very obviously frightened state of the boy.

He's crying, tears tracking down his ruddy cheeks, as he looks intently down at the scattered utensils, brow furrowed in seeming dismay, as though the very sight of the things leaves him perplexed and anguished.

It takes Steve's brain a moment to catch up to the danger of the situation, but finally it kicks into gear when he sees Loki bending down, small hands reaching for a very sharp pairing knife.

"No!" He shouts, leaping forward unthinkingly, hand outreached to stop the boy.

He realizes his mistake an instant later, when Loki's head snaps up, eyes wide and jaw slack with unmitigated terror.

He hadn't realized he was there, Steve thinks belatedly. He didn't know.

The child stumbles backwards, hands flying up in front of his face in a vain attempt to defend himself, a sharp, high pitched gasp slipping past his lips.

In a moment, he's lost his footing, crashing to the floor gracelessly, onto his bottom, a strangled grunt following the impact.

Steve skids to a halt, realizing how scary he must seem to the poor kid, but the damage is already done.

Loki scrambles backwards, eyes the size of saucers and still fixed unblinkingly on the captain.

"Hey, hey, no, no, it… it's alright. It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you." Steve tries fervently to explain, holding his own hands up in what he hopes is an understandable sign of peace.

Loki only continues to stare up at him, small chest heaving shallow and rapid in panic. He's on the verge of hyperventilating, and Steve feels a renewed sensed of urgency.

"Hey, it's okay…" he tries again, taking a slow step forward.

It's another mistake, as in the next moment, Loki's launched himself to his feet, quicker than any kid his age should be able, and faster than Steve can really follow, he goes flying towards the small dining table a few feet to his right, diving underneath it and scrabbling as he pushes himself under one of the hard backed chairs.

And Steve feels his heart sink, as he watches the boy curl in on himself, hands coming up over his head, pressing himself down into a ball, forehead against his knees.

He's shaking viciously, uncontrollably, and Steve knows it's because he thinks he's trapped.

Jesus, he's handled this entire situation like a rookie.

He waits a moment, eyes still on the child, trying to figure out in his mind how best to proceed.

Loki's absolutely petrified, that's obvious. And Steve's got to find some way to calm him down.

And then it comes to him.

Forcing down his own nerves, he begins forward cautiously, keeping his gaze fixed on the boy and keeping his steps light and soft.

Still, he's sure Loki is aware of his approach, the trembling through his tiny frame growing more pronounced by the second, and Steve has to force himself to continue, battling against the desire to back off.

When finally he finds himself within reach of the kid, he lowers himself gingerly down onto his knees, wanting to make himself appear as small and nonthreatening as possible, though he knows his chance for that is already pretty much shot to hell.

He's just beginning to reach out, Loki's name on the tip of his tongue, when suddenly the boy lashes out, and if Steve had had any doubts before of who the boy was, what occurs next eradicates any such questions.

The kid's like lightening, he's so fast. Steve doesn't even register the movement until after the boy's small fingers, thin and spindly, are wrapped around his wrist. An instant after, and the captain realizes the _pressure_.

Loki has him in just the right hold to snap the bone of his wrist, and he's _strong_. Far too strong for a child so young and small, and Steve knows, instinctively, if he were just a regular man, the bone would have been completely shattered by now.

Luckily for him, he's not, and without really thinking about it, he reaches his free hand over, grabbing hold of Loki's own, birdlike wrist and applying pressure to where he assumes the nerves are.

Quickly then, Loki's grip loosens, and he whimpers, trying to pull his wrist free of Steve's own.

If he'd been scared before, it's tenfold now, and Steve feels nothing but heartbreak as he looks at the boy. He'd just been terrified, he knows. He'd only been trying to defend himself.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." The captain begins, lowering himself until he's eyelevel with the boy, making certain to look at him directly.

"_Loki_," he says his name, very deliberately and slowly. "it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

And finally, blessedly, that seems to do the trick.

Hearing his name spoken, Steve watches some of the animal fear drain away from the child's delicate features, tears still streaming thick and fast from his vibrant eyes. Only they've cleared somewhat, some of that terror being replaced by confusion and regard.

He blinks at Steve, still leaned back from him, tension still vibrating through his rigid frame.

Slowly then, Steve lets go his grip on Loki's wrist, uncurling his already loosely held fingers and pulling his hand away carefully, so that the child can see his every movement.

He holds his hands up in front of him then, palms out.

"Alright Loki?" He asks, keeping his voice calm and soft.

He can see the kid recognizes his own name.

Good, Steve thinks. That's good.

And a moment later, it's confirmed, when for the first time since this whole thing began, he hears the boy speak.

It is with the same, unusual accent that Steve had heard in his voice before, when he was a full grown man. Only where Loki's voice had been commanding and silken and strong then, his voice now is young and high and soft. Barely above a whisper and difficult to catch.

"Y-you… you know me?" He asks, trepidation and confusion thick in his words, and underneath it all, showing blatantly too upon the child's features, there is hope.

And it's another, shocking difference between how Steve remembers Loki and what he sees before him now.

When before, Loki's face had been an absolute mask. Impossible to read. Impossible to know at all what he was really thinking.

His face now is wide open as a book, his emotions plain and naked upon every feature.

Steve smiles kindly at him, nodding.

"Sure do kiddo." He answers.

It occurs to him a moment after that Loki's surprise at it means in turn the boy doesn't know him. Doesn't recognize him.

A thousand questions flit through the captain's head at the realization, but for the moment, he shoves them away. He needs to deal with what's happening now.

Loki's eyes remain fixed on his face, still wide and confused, suspicion and fear beginning to seep back in.

He swallows thickly, body still shaking.

"… How?" He speaks again, and Steve remembers at once just how _smart_ Loki is. Recognizes it in his appraising, intent gaze.

He isn't someone to just take someone at their word, like most children his age.

Steve can't tell him the truth, though. From everything he's seeing now, he doesn't think Loki remembers a whole lot. Or at least, not about New York, and the invasion. If he did, surely he would recognize Steve himself.

But Loki's smart enough, the captain also thinks, that to lie to him outright would only result in him being called out.

So he settles on a half-truth.

"I know your brother. Thor." He says.

Instantly, Loki's eyes go wide, and there is at once such a wash of crushing, plain relief across his face, that it causes an ache deep within Steve's chest, his throat tightening.

The tears in the boy's eyes grow thicker, running in waves down his already wet cheeks, a wrecked, loud sob breaking from his throat.

"Th-or?" He questions brokenly through his tears. "D-do you know where m-my bb-brother is? I-I-I w-want my brother. I want my br-brother!"

The boy is crying in earnest now, and suddenly he's clinging to Steve, small hands burying and twisting in the material of the captain's shirt, staring up at him with pleading, desperate eyes.

"Please!" He begs. "Please, I… I want my brother."

Steve wasn't anticipating this reaction _at all_.

From everything Steve had seen and known of Loki, from every interaction with Thor, he'd assumed Loki absolutely hated his brother. That he felt no real kinship, no love or affection for him at all.

But now here he is, holding on to Steve with shaking hands, crying raggedly and begging to see Thor as though is very life were dependent upon it.

Steve wonders suddenly if it was the right to say after all.

He doesn't know where Thor is at the moment, or when he'll be coming back, and he doesn't really have any way of getting in touch with him.

But the boy in his arms is crying for him, and there is so much hope and wanting despair in Loki's small voice, that Steve feels his own eyes grow hot with it, wishing desperately he could somehow bring the boy to his big brother.

He knows right now he can't.

Thor will come back eventually. He always does. But until then, Steve's going to have to figure out how to handle this on his own.

He sighs, reaching up and placing his hands on Loki's bony shoulders, his own palms wide enough to engulf the narrow plains.

He looks the boy in the face.

"Loki, listen." He starts. "Your brother is off world right now. He's not here. But…" he hastens to add when he sees Loki's face crumple, a thick sob slipping from his lips at the news. "he'll be back soon. Alright? I promise. And as soon as he is, you'll be back with him. Alright?"

Loki's breath is coming quick and hard, chest heaving underneath the absurdly large garment which serves as his own clothing. His eyes are massive within his thin, small face, staring up at Steve with fear and hope.

"I… I have your word?" He manages after long seconds, voice quivering and weak. His hands continue to kneed and tremble in the material of Steve's shirt.

Steve nods.

"Yeah. Yes." He says. "You have my word. I promise."

And he means it.

The second he hears word of Thor being back, he's going straight to him to tell him what's going on, little of it that he knows.

His promise seems to only mildly calm the boy though, and soon Loki's hands are losing their grip on his shirt, and he's slumping down, thin arms coming up around himself in a pitiful looking hug, face turning down.

He continues to sniffle and whimper as he cries, and Steve can think of nothing to do but put his hand on the kid's back and rub what he hopes are soothing circles against it.

He tries to ignore just how easily he can feel every rib and vertebrae.

"Hey," he starts after a little while, when Loki's weeping finally seems to be slowing down, the trembling through his frame growing less pronounced. "are you hungry? I could make you something to eat if you are?"

It takes some time, but eventually, Loki lifts his face, gazing up warily at the captain.

"I… I am somewhat." He says quietly, almost as if he fears the confession will earn him some sort of punishment.

Steve only smiles broadly at him.

"Alright!" He says enthusiastically. "Come on then. Why don't you have a seat at this table and I'll cook you something up. Anything you'd like in particular? Eggs, pancakes, cereal?"

Loki looks up at him with an expression of uncertainty.

"E-eggs?" He stammers after a moment, a tone of questioning on it.

Steve continues smiling, hoping he's being encouraging.

"Eggs it is then!" He says. "Come on."

He reaches towards the boy, keeping his movements slow and obvious, and feels a rush of relief when Loki doesn't freak out as he places his hold underneath the pits of the kid's arms and pulls him gently from under the chair.

"Let's just sit you down here." He goes on, lifting Loki easily up of the floor and settling him down on the chair's seat.

Loki's so small, his feet don't even come close to reaching the floor, and his discomfort is obvious in the way he curls in on himself once more, arms wrapping about his torso and head bowing.

"Are you cold?" Steve asks, slightly concerned.

The kid's practically naked still, and he's been through so much in just the last, few hours.

Loki shakes his head.

"N-no. I… I don't really get cold." He says, voice again almost too soft to hear.

Steve smiles tightly down at him, wondering if the boy's telling the truth. Hoping he is.

"Alright." He concedes for now, reaching out and placing a gentle palm along Loki's crown, giving his hair a little tussle. "If you are though, just let me know. Hopefully a little later we can go out and get you some proper clothes."

Loki doesn't really respond to that, only seeming to curl further in on himself.

Steve sighs to himself.

Eventually, he knows, he's going to have to start asking the kid some questions. Try to figure out just what the heck is going on. How Loki got here. Just how much he remembers. All that.

For now though, he just wants to get some food in the boy and make sure he's okay.

The rest of it can wait.

/

**AN: Hey guys! Wow, so, this response to this story has been crazy! And I can't thank you guys enough for your show of support and enthusiasm! It means the world to me, really. So, here's another chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed it! If you have a chance, please let me know what you thought, and thank you so much again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Steve sits across from Loki, watching him as he practically inhales the eggs on the plate before him. He'd been slightly suspicious at first, it seemed, and Steve had almost laughed when the boy had looked up at him after poking and prodding at them, confusion writ plain across his face, and asked why the eggs were so crumbly, and what the odd, red sauce was lathering them.

However they took their eggs in Asgard, clearly it wasn't scrambled and with ketchup.

But the kid had been starving, there can be no doubt, as once he'd gotten over his initial puzzlement, he'd taken to eating the dish with gusto.

Though even with that, the captain notices how almost bizarrely well mannered he is. How delicately, even primly he brings the food to his mouth, how he chews with his mouth closed and cuts the eggs into pieces small enough to easily fit past his lips.

It's so wholly the opposite of Thor.

Everything about the boy, really, is the opposite of Thor.

How soft spoken and withdrawn he is. Even shy.

How, well, scrawny he is too. Even when he'd encountered Loki fully grown, it hadn't escaped him, how gaunt and thin the man had been. In comparison to Thor, he'd seemed downright frail.

Now of course, it was only more pronounced.

It's as Loki's drinking slowly but fully from the glass of water Steve had set down with his food, that Steve decides another attempt to engage him again in conversation, hoping to learn more about what's going on.

"So, Loki," he starts, once the boy's put the glass back down. "Thor's your older brother, isn't that right?"

He already knows the answer of course. It's only that he hopes talking about Thor will somehow help coax Loki into a more relaxed state. If they talk about something familiar and shared between them.

Loki stares up at him, seemingly frozen a moment, blinking.

His cheeks are still tracked with his by now dried tears, eyes still slightly puffy and red.

Finally, his gaze slips away, and he begins poking nervously at his food, fidgeting.

"Well… he is only a _little_ older than me." He at last says, and Steve can't help but smile at the almost haughty, prideful tone to his young voice.

"Is that right?" Steve continues, not wanting to let this opportunity go, now that he's got the kid talking.

Loki nods, very solemnly, expression serious as he looks back up at the captain.

"Aye." He says. "He is only just over two centuries my elder. That's hardly older than me at all."

Steve's brain blanks for a moment at that.

Two _centuries_!?

He keeps forgetting how long lived Thor and his kind are. Practically immortal.

Shaking himself from his momentary shock, he keeps smiling at the boy, nodding and encouraging him to go on.

Loki huffs in seeming frustration.

"Though Thor's already been in weapons training for decades and I'm not even allowed!"

For a moment, his voice gets slightly louder, turning to almost a squeak at his excitement, before he seems to remember himself and he looks away, cheeks turning a flushed pink.

"F-Father and Mother say I'm still too little." He finishes in a half-mumble.

Steve instantly feels a pang of deep sympathy for the boy, remembering his own childhood, never being allowed or even able to join in any of the games of the other children.

He'd always been too small and sickly himself.

It doesn't escape his notice either, that Loki seems to be under the impression that he is in fact currently living out his life as a boy. He's knows, in the back of his mind, that it's going to present an issue, when Thor does come back, and Loki sees him as a full grown man.

They aren't going to be able to keep the truth from the kid.

But that's a problem for later, Steve reasons.

"Hey," he starts. "I'm sure that'll change soon. You've just got to give yourself some time to grow."

But Loki only shakes his head in dismay, eyes still fixed down.

He isn't even eating anymore.

"No, I… I am very small. All the other boys my age are already well advanced in their training. Boys younger even. E-even Sif has already begun." He drops his fork, arms coming around himself again. "I fear I shall n-never pull astride Thor. How… How am I to aide him on the fields of battle if… if I do not even know how to wield a sword? If I am always so sick and confined to the healing halls?"

He looks up at Steve then, eyes sad and desperate.

And Steve feels his heart ache.

"You get sick a lot little buddy?" Steve asks, overwhelmed suddenly by the growing similarities between them.

Loki nods dejectedly, and Steve can see the tears, again beginning to well in his eyes.

"I'm sick all the time." Loki says, voice wavering slightly. "I'm not supposed to know, but I hear Mother talking with Eir and she says I have a fr… a fragile constitution. That means I'm not very strong and things can hurt me more easily than… than other children.

But Thor's never sick. He… he never gets sick, and the other's all laugh at me and tell me I must bring Father shame, 'cause a Prince isn't supposed to be so weak! But I don't mean to be! I try to be strong! I do!"

The kid's working himself into a frenzy again, his chest starting to heave in panicked breathes.

Steve's spares a thought for how unnatural it seems, that a boy so young should be so anxious and worried.

The rest of him is consumed by increasing sadness and sympathy.

"Hey, hey…" Steve starts, reaching out automatically and resting a hand on the child's shoulder. "it's okay."

It does little to calm his worsening state though, as he begins again to cry.

"Loki, hey." Steve continues. He moves his hand to cup the boys face, wrapping his fingers round to the back of his head. "Look little man, you can't listen to all of what those other kids say. They don't know anything. Hey, look at me."

It takes a few, long seconds, but gradually, Loki lifts his face to him, eyes wet.

Steve smiles at him.

"You know," he starts. "I used to be really small too, and sick _all_ the time. I was so sick most of the time, I wasn't even allowed outside to play. And the other kids used to make fun of me too."

Loki blinks rapidly up at him, uncurling one arm and lifting a hand, wiping clumsily at his eyes.

"T-truly?" He asks, disbelief thick in his voice as he takes in Steve's form. "B-but you're strong. You look strong."

Steve nods.

"I am." He says plainly. "But I wasn't always this way, I promise you. Just don't listen to any of the mean stuff kids say, because if you just work hard and set your sights on what you want, you can do anything. And I mean that."

Steve knows even as he's saying it that it sounds corny. But he also knows the impact bullying can have on a kid, the evidence of which is all too obvious in Loki now.

And he knows if he'd had someone to tell him the same thing when he was growing up, he wouldn't have thought it was corny at all.

Loki's eyes have drifted away from the captain again, and he seems to truly be contemplating what Steve's said, expression thoughtful, even as tears continue down his cheeks.

Again, the boy wipes at them, before finally returning his gaze to Steve's face.

"My Mother conveys similar sentiments." He says, once more adopting a very serious, adult tone.

It really is a challenge for Steve not to smile at it. He knows he shouldn't. Knows that likely the kid would take offense at it.

"Thor as well." Loki goes on, nodding.

"Well, you see!" Steve grins. "We can't all be wrong."

Again, Loki nods.

"I… I shall endeavor to heed your advice then." Again, he wipes his eyes, his fit finally beginning to dissipate back into calm.

A moment later, it seems to be replaced entirely by a kind of nervousness, as Loki begins poking again at his eggs, eyes fixed down.

"May I ask you your name?" He asks softly, shyly even.

Steve blinks.

He hadn't even realized he'd yet to tell the boy.

"Oh." He starts. "Yeah. I'm Steve. Steve Rogers."

Loki glances up at him, and Steve smiles, holding his hand out to shake.

The boy eyes the offered hand a moment, wary and somewhat confused looking, before slowly he reaches back.

Steve's not at all surprised when Loki wraps his skinny fingers round his forearm instead of taking his hand, his grip reaching only about halfway round. Steve in turn grips Loki's forearm, his own hold surrounding the limb easily.

It's the same way Thor always greets everyone on the team.

"Steve Rogerson." Loki nods, as though greeting an official or some head of state. "And I am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard."

Steve can't help his smile as it stretches wide across his face.

The kid's damn cute.

"Pleased to meet you Loki Odinson." He says.

They hold onto one another for a moment longer, until Loki releases his grip, drawing his hand back to his lap, his eyes still fixed on Steve questioningly.

"If I may," he starts. "how do you know my brother?"

"Well, he's a teammate of mine…" Steve starts without thinking, halting abruptly when he realizes how nonsensical this is going to sound to the kid.

For all the captain can tell, Loki still thinks Thor is just a kid himself.

"A… _team-mate_?" Loki asks an instant later.

"Well I mean, we're friends, your brother and I. And we're part of a team of… well, the media likes to call us super heroes, but we go out and help people who are in trouble. And fight crime. So in a way, I guess we are."

Loki's expression is utterly lost for a moment, and Steve gets the feeling the boy hasn't understood a word he's just said.

He swallows thickly then, the thin column of his throat bobbing noticeably.

"… What Realm is this?" He asks after a long moment, voice even more hushed than usual.

He sounds suddenly afraid again.

"Realm?" Steve asks, for a moment not understanding. And then abruptly he remembers. "Oh, you mean like… well, this is Earth." He says.

"Earth?" Loki questions, sounding completely confused.

"Uh, I mean…" what the hell did Thor call it again. "Midgard?"

"Midgard!?" Loki starts, alarm thick in his voice. "B-but… but Father says we are forbidden from traveling to Midgard! He… h-he says it is most dangerous, filled with savages and barbaric cultures! He says…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Steve interrupts him, putting his hands up, unable to keep himself from chuckling. "Slow down there little guy. That's not true. I mean, people can be pretty awful sometimes, but we've got some good stuff about us too."

Loki looks anything but convinced, the panic still plain in his eyes.

"But Father says…!" He begins again.

And Steve suddenly realizes, if Loki still believes himself to be living in the same timeframe as his actual childhood, then…

Didn't Thor say he was over a thousand years old? And that would make Loki comparably the same age.

Abruptly he understands where the boy's notions are coming from.

A thousand years ago on Earth was a pretty barbaric, brutal time in human history.

"Well, some places on… Midgard, are like that." Steve decides to compromise, trying to be careful with how much he reveals to Loki. He still doesn't completely understand what's going on, or how or why. He really needs to get a hold of Thor. "But other places are very civilized and peaceful. Like here, in America."

"A-Americ-ah?" Loki asks.

Steve nods.

"Yeah. That's the name of our country. And we've got some pretty advanced stuff here. You'll see, once I take you around."

At this, Loki's eyes widen, obvious fear clouding them.

"Y-you mean o-out… out there?" He stammers.

"Yeah." Steve nods. "Outside, I mean."

"But it's… I-I…" Loki starts to say, voice wavering slightly. He looks abruptly terrified, but a moment later, he shuts his mouth and glances down, his hands beginning to fidget in the material of the oversized shirt he wears.

"Loki," Steve begins, worry gripping him hard over the child's distressed state.

But then Loki is talking again.

"I… I-I suppose it is as a warrior would do." He begins feebly. "It is very big an-and… and loud here. But… but a true warrior would not be afraid."

And suddenly Steve is remembering how he first found Loki, terrified and naked and being chased by that group of boys.

It hadn't even crossed the captain's mind yet to question Loki about any of that. About what he maybe remembered of what had happened to him, if he remembered anything at all. And how he'd ended up running from a group of teenagers.

No wonder the kid was so scared to go outside. Steve doesn't know what Asgard is like at all, but from everything he's heard Thor say of his home, it's a whole heck of a lot smaller and quieter than most cities on Earth.

You take a kid from there, and throw them into the middle of New York, one of the biggest and noisiest cities in the world, well…

And now here Loki was, trying to put on a brave face and overcome his fears.

Maybe it isn't such a good idea, Steve thinks, to bring the boy out into the world just yet. Loki's already wound tighter than any child should ever be.

"You know what," Steve starts, having made up his mind. "how about this? I'll got out, get you some proper fitting clothes, maybe pick up some dinner for later tonight. And we'll think about going out together for some other time. What do you think of that?"

He smiles at the boy encouragingly as Loki glances up at him, questioning and so clearly hopeful, it makes Steve's heart ache.

He gets the awful feeling Loki isn't often allowed to heed his own sense of caution. Not without being reprimanded for it, or made fun of.

He remembers Loki's apparent and frankly frightening recklessness when he and his team had fought him before. Remembers wondering how someone could grow to be so totally dismissive of their own safety as Loki appeared to the captain to be.

"I… I will face the challenge of Midgard's wilderness Steve Rogerson. You need not try and protect me." Loki says, again adopting a tone of maturity, so out of place coming from a boy so young.

Steve keeps his smile fixed in place, nodding.

"I know." He tells Loki. "It's just, you've been through a lot today, and it's probably better if you rest some more. You'll feel better sooner if you do, and then we can work on figuring out how to get you back with your family."

And that seems to do the trick.

Loki's narrow shoulders seem to sag in relief, and his face turns down.

"Alright." He says in little more than a whisper, and Steve knows from how easily he gave in that it was exactly what the kid had been hoping to hear.

/

**AN: Again guys, your support on this story has been absolutely phenomenal, and I can't thank you enough! I'm just floored! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and please let me know what you think if you get a chance!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**:

Steve had been reluctant to leave the kid alone, even if it was just for an hour or so.

Strangely, he found it wasn't from a mistrust of Loki himself, but rather fear of others finding out about the boy and coming to take him away.

There was such a disarming innocence to Loki.

Steve would never have been able to picture him so when first he'd encountered him.

Loki hadn't even seemed like a person to him then. More like some demented caricature or insane approximation of an actual man. There'd been nothing kind or nice or innocent to him.

In retrospect, the captain realizes the foolery of his own thoughts and assumptions.

No one was born bad, of that Steve was absolutely certain. And no matter how evil his acts, Loki had once been a child too, and Thor's love for him had to have come from somewhere, deep and unbending as it was.

No one had ever really bothered to ask the Thunder god about what Loki had been like before, but from the times Thor spoke of his brother, Steve had been able to glean easily enough that Loki had once been good, or at least, Thor had seen him that way.

Seeing for himself Loki as a boy, Steve understands fully now where that opinion had come from.

Loki was a _sweet_ kid. Just really sweet. Shy and soft spoken and gentle.

As he is, it's almost impossible for Steve to imagine him ever turning into the deranged lunatic he and his team had faced off against a year ago.

There's nothing of that man in the boy he's taken in.

Loki had assured him in that adorably grown up manner of his that he would alright on his own for a while, and promised to be on his best behavior until the captain's return and not leave the apartment.

Steve had told him good, and then proceeded to take the kid's measurements with a tape, a process to which Loki had been endlessly curious, fascinated by the units of inches and centimeters. He'd gone on to explain that, on Asgard, they used a completely different means of measurement, something so ridiculously complex sounding that Loki had lost Steve about a quarter of the way through.

Loki had launched into a litany of such advanced sounding mathematics that even Tony might have a difficult time keeping up, doing so with an ease and sureness that spoke of total comprehension.

Steve had known Loki was smart.

Thor often spoke of his brother as "the cleverest of the gods", calling him brilliant and "dangerously sharp of mind".

"You mean he's a genius?" Tony had once asked, rolling his eyes, and Thor had nodded.

"Aye." He'd said. "That is your word for it."

Tony had gone on to make some remark about how Loki hadn't acted too much like a genius in his little take over attempt, and Thor had grown angry and upset, insisting that Loki hadn't been acting himself at all then. That normally his brother displayed absolutely ingenious strategic thinking and instincts, and that it was always Loki himself who conceived of their plans of attack when upon the field of battle, always to much success.

Steve remembers his teammates shrugging off Thor's claims at the time and not really paying them much regard.

But listening to Loki talk, listening to him reeling off numbers and equations which made the most advanced mathematics on Earth sound kind of rudimentary, with a speed and precisian which just seemed absurd for a boy who looked, in physical years, no older than six, well, the captain was beginning to put a lot more stock in Thor's assertions to his brother's intellect.

More off putting still though was Loki's obvious youth and inexperience, mixed with that undeniable genius.

The boy was a paradox. Clearly, frighteningly intelligent, but so very much a child still.

He'd giggled uncontrollably when Steve had accidentally brushed up against a ticklish area while taking his measurements, hiding his face shying behind his hands.

And in just the space of a few, short hours of knowing one another, he'd taken to holding Steve's hand, the way some children do their parents while crossing the street.

That Loki trusts him so implicitly, so quickly, speaks to the child's lack of worldliness, and is, to Steve, more than a little daunting.

What if he does something to betray that trust?

As it is, he's had to push such concerns from his mind, knowing he can do nothing about it but concentrate on what's happening now, and make certain things are alright for the kid.

He'd been as fast as he could in going out shopping.

Loki was such a tiny little boy, it was actually somewhat of a challenge, finding proper fitting clothing.

He'd given up after about fifteen minutes of searching through the sections meant for boys ranging in age from about seven to ten, and opted on the sections for toddlers and very young children, about three to six years of age. And there he'd finally found some clothes that would fit the kid.

He'd probably overdone it, really, buying about ten pairs of pants and fifteen shirts, three pairs of sneakers, a bunch of socks and underwear, and a coat.

But Steve didn't know what Loki would like, and he'd wanted to do everything he could to make the boy comfortable.

And so he finds himself balancing about five different bags on his arms as he tries to let himself into his apartment.

"Hey, Loki?" He calls as he finally manages it, closing the door quietly behind him.

He doesn't hear anything at first, and he tries to quell the nervous tension which instantly seeps into his frame, moving forward, through the living room.

"Loki?" He calls again, mouth unpleasantly dry.

Suddenly his eyes fill with a green flash of light, so bright it momentarily blinds him, and he stumbles back a step, blinking rapidly.

A moment later, his vision clears, and standing a few feet before him, staring up with wide, excited eyes, is Loki. Clutched to his chest, Steve quickly notices, is the laptop computer Tony had given him.

"Well met, Steve Rogerson!" Loki greets enthusiastically.

The kid is practically shaking with excitement, Steve realizes, shifting from foot to foot and smiling, if not broadly, then genuinely.

And then he's holding the laptop out and up.

"This is a most fascinating contraption!" He starts. "Can you explain to me what magic powers it?"

Magic?

Steve blinks.

Magic!

That's… what Loki just did… the flash of green light…

That was _magic_.

Oh, jeeze, Steve hadn't even… he hadn't even _considered_ that the kid would be able to do… all of what he'd seen Loki do back during the invasion. And his suddenly just… just _appearing_ in front of him, seemingly out of thin air, he'd _never _seen Loki do that.

Why hadn't this occurred to him?

Maybe, he supposes, because Loki had seemed so vulnerable and afraid. It hadn't registered that the boy might possess any kind of power at all.

"Ummm," Steve starts, struggling a moment to regain his thoughts and find his words.

Loki continues starting up at him, head craned almost all the way back in order to see Steve's face, eyes expectant and strangely patient.

"Listen, why don't we… have a seat over here." The captain suggests, nodding towards the couch.

Loki blinks, expression falling somewhat, and Steve can't help but feel bad, like he's let the kid down somehow.

"Oh, al… alright." Loki replies after a moment, before turning obediently and moving towards the sofa, clambering up onto it with some difficulty.

Steve sighs, moving to take a seat beside him, placing his bags down on the floor.

Loki continues to look up at him, and Steve can't help but smile in return, putting an arm around the boy's narrow shoulders and hugging him to his side.

He's so tiny, Steve can hardly begin to believe it. He thinks, even, the kid may have given him a run for his money in the undersized department, back in the day.

It only makes the captain want to protect Loki more fiercely.

"So, listen Loki," he starts. "I'll do my best to explain to you how that thing works." He says, indicating the laptop, which Loki still clutches to his chest. "Though I'll warn you now, I'm no expert."

Suddenly, Loki is smiling again.

"That's alright!" He exclaims. "You know more than I, and so I can learn!"

Steve smiles tightly.

He doesn't have the heart to tell the boy that he probably really doesn't know much more at all than him.

"Right." He says. "But hey, it looks like you can do some pretty neat stuff yourself. Is that magic too?"

For an instant, Loki's eyes light up, and his smile turns to an actual grin.

Only just as quickly, the expression fades, and the boy's shoulders seem to slump, finally turning away from Steve. He hugs the computer closer to his chest.

"I… I am not very good." He stammers softly, almost sounding ashamed. "Mama says I am but… b-but she is only being kind, I know. And anyway, mm-magic is argr. It isn't a p-proper practice for a man."

Steve feels his heart sink in the same instant a flash of anger flares in his belly.

Loki had been so clearly excited when he'd mentioned his magic, only to a moment later behave as though it were something he should be ashamed of, and the captain knew all too well where that kind of thinking found its root.

No child should be made to feel bad about the things they like, or the things they're good at.

Steve himself is only all too familiar with what that kind of bullying and badgering can do to a person.

"Hey," he starts gently, nudging Loki under his chin with his knuckle, trying to get the boy to look at him.

When finally he does, Steve smiles.

"That's not true." He says. "First of all, you've obviously got a lot of talent, if you can just appear and disappear at will like that."

Loki blinks, and then looks away, shrugging his small shoulders and hugging the laptop closer still.

"And second, you shouldn't listen to what other people say. If you like magic, and like doing magic, then that's good enough. And you know what else…"

Loki glances to him, uncertain.

Steve continues smiling.

"I'll bet they're just jealous, since they can't do magic like you can." He goes on. "It makes them nervous, that you're so good at something they're no good at at all. You know, people used to make fun of me too, because I liked to draw and paint, and they said that was for girls too."

Loki is staring up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes now.

"T-truly?" He asks, and there's so much hope in the kids voice, it makes Steve's throat feel tight.

"Absolutely!" He forces out, keeping his smile in place. "And listen, I'd love for you to tell me how it works, if you want to. See, I'm just a man, a, uh… mortal. We don't really have magic here."

"Truly?!" Loki says again, eyes widening further. "But… what of this contraption!?" He holds out the laptop. "True I… I sense no magic in it but… but it behaves as would a magical artifact."

"Well, you see…" Steve starts, grasping for ways to explain something which he really has no clue about himself. "it runs on a thing called electricity and, uh… well…" he's grasping for straws here, he knows. "Here, let me show you."

He takes the computer from the boys hands, Loki relinquishing it without protest, and flips the screen up. The thing lights up, already having been powered on, and Steve glances at the god-child, eyebrows raised in questioning.

Loki actually looks sheepish as he says…

"I… I was able to make it listen to me…" his voice comes out barely a whisper.

Steve can't help the laugh which slips past his teeth.

"Well, that's a heck of a lot more than I could make it do when I first tried my hand at it." He admits without hesitation. He reaches over then, ruffling the kid's hair, and it broadens his grin as Loki giggles and ducks away.

"I still don't know a whole lot. You'd be better off talking to my friend Tony about all this…" he starts, and then freezes, jaw tightening. Frantically, he worries that he's just made a huge mistake, and he glances nervously at Loki, waiting anxiously for the kid's reaction.

But Loki doesn't seem to have noticed anything at all, still staring up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

Steve swallows, breathing out slowly.

He knows eventually that he's going to have to tell the rest of the team about this. There's no way he can keep it a secret.

He's not so much worried about that, as he is about Fury finding out…

"Um," he starts, trying to swerve his mind back on track. "but anyway, this is, uh, this is what we call the internet." He double clicks on the Google Chrome icon, just like Tony showed him, and a window pops up quickly.

Loki's eyes, if possible, go wider still in amazement as he watches Steve's rudimentary navigation and explanation of what the internet is, typing in the few websites he's visited and showing the child how it all works.

"It's basically a really quick way to gather information." Steve tells him. "Think of it as sort of an endless library, where you can look up any topic you want instantly."

"A… a l-library?" Loki asks, and his voice Steve notices is filled with absolute wonder.

The captain nods.

"Yup. Here, tell me something you're interested in, and I'll show you how the search engine works."

Steve watches then as Loki's face settles itself into a look of concentrated thought, the boy biting his lower lip.

For a moment, the captain thinks he's got an idea, but then he closes his mouth and shakes his head, resuming his contemplative expression.

"Ohh, I know!" He at last declares.

"Yeah?" Steve asks.

"Elvin magical theorem, particularly in relation to shape changing and glamour, and inherent and essential differences therein."

Steve blinks, thinking for a moment that Loki must be joking.

But the boy's face is perfectly serious and expectant, and the captain quickly realizes that isn't the case.

"Uh," he starts stupidly. "well, remember I said we don't really… have magic here on Ear… on Midgard?"

Loki's expression doesn't change.

"Aye." He says. "But that should not preclude you from the study of magic, should it?"

Well, damn…

"That's true." Steve answers slowly. "But, um, how about we start with something a little simpler?"

Loki huffs, clearly disappointed, and Steve can't help thinking how cute he looks.

"Very well then." The boy at last relents. "Unicorns. I've yet to see one, well, see one living. Father says they are spectacular creatures though."

Unicorns?

"Right, er, okay." Steve agrees, not particularly wanting to disappoint the kid again. Unicorns aren't real. At least, not here on Earth. But there should still be information regarding their lore and mythology.

So he types it in to Google, and instantly, hundreds of thousands of results pop up.

"Oh," Loki breathes, sounding awed as Steve hands him the computer back.

It is only a matter of seconds before the kid is thoroughly engrossed, clicking away and reading, and Steve can't help but smile.

He was going to suggest to Loki that he should maybe try on some of the clothes he'd bought for him, but he supposes that can wait.

In the meantime, he'll make himself busy with preparing dinner.

The boy looks like he must still be starving.

/

**AN: As always, huge thank you's to everyone who's read and/or reviewed this story! I hope you continue to enjoy it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

After making the two of them dinner, which Steve had been pleased to observe Loki consume with gusto, and helping the boy to try on a few of the clothes he'd purchased for him, which Steve was also pleased to find fit Loki quite well, he'd proceeded to draw up a bath for the boy.

Loki had stood by him as the tub filled, watching the waterline rise by the moment, small hands on the edge of the tub, standing on tiptoes to see well over it.

Steve had been somewhat embarrassed when, after he'd been satisfied with the temperature and level, he'd turned off the tap and found Loki undressing in front of him, with no apparent hesitation or modesty. He'd himself looked aside, mumbling out that he could go, if Loki liked, but the child had seemed oblivious to his discomfort, giving enthusiastic permission for the captain to stay, if he liked, before moving towards the tub and struggling briefly to lift himself over the edge and in.

Steve had ended up needing to help him, picking him up under the pits of his arms and lowering him into the water.

It ended up amusing Steve to no end, seeing how very childlike Loki was, how very much like _any _young boy he was, the way he splashed about in the water, slapping his hands along the surface and giggling delightedly when water swooshed up at the motion, or ducking his head fully under it and attempting to hold his breath for long periods.

Steve never let him stay under for longer than a few seconds at a time.

Though eventually Loki had calmed down, and allowed Steve to help wash him, the captain taking care and deliberateness in the way he ran the washcloth across the boy's pale skin.

He'd asked in earnest curiosity what "shampoo" was, and had held an expression of pure wonderment when Steve had explained and then proceeded to work the stuff into Loki's perfectly black locks, making sure to tell the boy to keep his eyes firmly closed before washing it out with a container he filled with water from the bath.

From there, the conversation had turned to what Loki had explored on the internet, at which point, the boy had grown somewhat agitated, declaring indignantly that all the information he'd looked up on unicorns had claimed they were a mythical creature, purely a fabrication and "not real".

"They _are _real!" Loki had insisted angrily, his delicate features scrunching up in affront, to which Steve couldn't help but smile and chuckle at. "I've even seen one. I confess the creature was not a living specimen, but I _know_ it was real. Father _told_ me so, and Father would never lie to me."

Steve had smiled and nodded, and tried to calm the boy by explaining again how magic wasn't really a thing on Earth, and that since unicorns were very much magical creatures, it would explain why the humans thought them to be a fantasy.

This seemed to placate Loki somewhat, though he'd looked dubious, glancing sidelong at Steve and wondering aloud how it was a realm of Yggdrisil could be so backwards.

Steve had awkwardly laughed it off, shrugging noncommittally before deciding then was as good a time as any to announce bed, helping Loki from the tub, drying him off with a towel and dressing him in one of the new sets of pajama's he'd bought.

He'd then sat Loki down on a chair in the living room to comb his hair, running the comb back through the incredibly soft tresses, slicking it back perfectly behind his ears.

It had shocked Steve, when he'd done so, to see how very _obvious_ it was the boy who was now with him, this young, innocent child, was indeed the same man he and his team had before fought to save the world from. But the evidence was plain in the kid's features. His face exact to the man but for the look of extreme youth upon it.

Steve still could hardly believe it, could hardly reconcile that this sweet little boy was the same, raving madman they'd all faced, and not for the first time since this all began, the captain had found himself wondering, if this was how Loki had been as a child, if this is what he'd been like growing up, what could have happened to him, to drive him towards such violence and anger and hatred.

It was a question which deserved contemplation, but like so many things involving Loki now, Steve had put it aside for another time.

He'd been pretty beat, and he thought after everything, Loki probably was too, and so he'd put the boy up in the guest bedroom, after offering to let him sleep in his own bed, but Loki had shaken his head and insisted he was "grown enough to have my own rooms.". A point which he'd seemed incredibly proud of, and so Steve had let it go.

And indeed, the second Loki's head had hit the pillow and Steve had pulled the covers up over his shoulder, the boy had seemed to fall asleep, curled in on himself almost protectively.

The captain hadn't been able to help brushing his fingers affectionately over Loki's soft cheek, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear, before finally backing away from the bed and cutting the lights.

He'd fallen asleep pretty quickly himself after that, despite his brain replaying the events of the past two days over and over in his mind, and worrying what the heck he was going to do when things inevitably came to a head.

But it seems no time has passed at all when in the morning, he's roused by an insistent banging on his apartment's front door.

It takes a moment for Steve's mind to clear and to recognize the sound, but the moment he does, his eyes snap wide, all traces of sleep instantly erased from his body and he rockets to a sitting position, head turning towards his rooms entry.

The knocking sounds again, and a moment later, the captain is up, hastily pulling a shirt on over his head and striding out into the hallway.

He peeks his head in the doorway of the guestroom on his way, seeing, thankfully, Loki still curled up and asleep on the bed, just as he'd left him the night before. The only thing out of place seems to be the covers, which have been tossed off the boy almost completely, but Steve has little time to contemplate it as again, there comes a loud banging.

He rushes towards the front door, mind working a mile a minute, dread seeping into his bones as his imagination runs wild with who could be knocking on his door at… he glances at the wall clock, eight o'clock in the morning.

Pressing his face to the peephole, and he feels his stomach drop out from under him.

It's Natasha.

Of course, it's Natasha, God damn it, and that means SHIELD _knows_. Of course they know. Steve had been stupid to think he could keep this from them for any period of time.

For a moment, wildly, he thinks about grabbing Loki and sneaking out through the fire escape. But he discards the notion a second afterwards. He may be a super solider, and physically superior to almost every human on Earth. But Natasha is SHIELD most skilled and dangerous spy. She'd track them down in no time.

Breathing in, trying to steel himself, and acknowledging the futility of the situation, he reaches for the deadbolt.

He's just going to have to protect Loki, somehow…

A moment later, he has the door unlatched and is pulling it open, greeted by Natasha's smirking expression, her arms crossed over her tight body.

"Hey there Soldier." She greets smoothly. "Hope I didn't wake you."

"Actually," Steve replies, voice flat. "you did."

"Mm." She shrugs nonchalantly. "Mind if I come in?"

She takes a step forward, and Steve can't help the way he moves instantly to block her path.

"Mind telling me first why you're here?" He asks, and all joviality drains quickly from Natasha's face.

"Cut the crap Steve." She says, voice decidedly less pleasant. "Fury sent me. We know you picked up some kid yesterday. One who witnesses say they saw get hit by a car doing about forty and mysteriously fits the description of one would be world dominating villain."

Steve feels his shoulders slump, a sigh escaping his lips as he averts his eyes.

"Is he dead?" She asks bluntly. "Witnesses say they saw you carry him off, and that he was still breathing when you did."

Finally, Steve steps aside, letting her in.

"No," he starts, closing the door softly behind once she's in the apartment. "he's alive. Listen, Natasha, he's…"

He turns, finding her standing in the middle of the room, scanning the apartment.

After a moment, she turns back to him, one eyebrow cocked in questioning.

"Yes?" She presses when he just stands there, staring at her.

Steve straightens himself, hands fisting at his sides.

"He's just a kid, Natasha. I won't let you… I won't let SHIELD hurt him."

Natasha seems unimpressed, that same smirk sliding back into place.

"You say he's just a kid, I say he's just manipulating you."

"He's not." Steve snaps immediately, voice hard and angry. At her disbelieving look, he repeats himself. "He's _not_."

"Hmm. I'll be the judge of that, I think." She says, turning back around and looking once more at her surrounding. "Remember Steve, god of _lies_. The bastard makes manipulation his trade. It's his bread and butter. And I should know." She turns back to him. "I do the same thing."

Steve opens his mouth, about to offer a retort, when suddenly a sound draws his attention away from her, his eyes snapping to the hallway, widening when he sees Loki standing at it's threshold, blanket clutched in his hands, against his chest, staring back with equally wide, sleep filled eyes, gaze shifting back and forth between him and Natasha.

"Loki," Steve starts unthinkingly, taking a step towards him.

Of course, Natasha's already seen him, and she steps forward too.

It's enough to spook the kid, who stumbles back a step, eyes widening further, hands shaking as they press the blanket more tightly against his chest.

"S-Steve Rogers-son?" He stammers, voice trembling badly. "Is she…"

"She's not going to hurt you." Steve tries vainly to reassure, taking another, more cautious step towards the boy.

Natasha, thankfully, has stopped her advance, eyeing Loki critically.

Steve chances a look at her, her expression unreadable.

"I'm just here to ask you a few questions Loki." She starts, voice cold and emotionless.

Loki picks up on it instantly, his how features shifting into an almost terrified expression, eyes going at once glassy.

He turns to Steve, and when he again speaks, his voice is thick with barely suppressed tears.

"Please Steve Rogerson, don't… don't let her take me!" He begs frantically, taking another step back. "Please, I'll… I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Whatever I've done wrong, I… I won't do so again, y-you… you have my word, please!"

"Loki, it's okay." Steve tries urgently, taking another step closer, hands held up. "You're not going anywhere, and you didn't do anything. Okay? Natasha here's my friend, and she really does just want to ask you a few questions. Isn't that right Natasha?" He looks over at her, glaring, hoping she can read the warning in his eyes.

If she does try to take Loki, she's going to have to deal with him.

She doesn't even bother returning his gaze, her eyes still fixed on the boy.

"That's right." She says, smooth as glass.

It's always disturbed Steve, how easily and well Natasha can lie.

"Just a few questions." She goes on.

Loki's eyes move back to her, utterly suspicious and untrusting. A ragged breath escapes past his lips, wet and unsteady sounding. He takes another step back, and this time he loses his footing, falling backwards and hard to the floor.

For a moment, his face goes white with fear, green eyes huge and too bright.

"Stay there." Steve snaps at Natasha, and somehow, she listens to him, not moving, as he closes the rest of the distance to Loki, his approach slow and careful, hands still held palm up.

Loki looks like he wants to bolt, but he stays where he is, eyes fixed on Steve's approaching figure, chest rising and falling in now heaving breaths.

The captain crouches down low once he's reached the kid's side, hands still up. He tries smiling reassuringly.

"Hey kiddo," he starts softly. "you're alright. Right?"

Loki doesn't answer, just looking back at him, uncertain and fearful.

"Listen," Steve says, keeping his eyes fixed on Loki's own. "I promise I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, or take you anywhere. Alright? You have my word."

It takes several, long, agonizing moments, but at last, Loki pushes himself to his hands and knees, crawling towards Steve and throwing his arms around the captain's waist, hugging him desperately and burying his face against Steve's chest.

He's trembling, and Steve holds him back, feeling his heart sink.

He shoots Natasha another, baleful glare over the top of the kid's head. Natasha watches in turn with clearly disapproving eyes.

Steve doesn't care.

He knows once she talks to Loki, she'll realize he isn't lying. That this isn't some sort of manipulation on the boy's part.

He's sure of it.

/

Things between Loki and Natasha are tense.

He's clearly terrified of her, his voice barely rising to a whisper with each answer he gives.

Natasha isn't being particularly mean, though she isn't being particularly nice either, questioning the kid bluntly in a flat, inflectionless voice.

"What's the last thing you remember?" She presses, after asking him pointedly if he knows her, if he remembers anything about being in New York, both of which he'd answered in the negative, sounding desperate and confused.

Steve's sitting at Loki's side, watching as the boy curls his arms around himself, shoulders hunching and looking away from her. He wants to grab him up and take him away from Natasha right now.

Objectively, he knows she's just doing her job, and making sure the situation is secure, but Loki's already been through so much, and if she can't see he isn't lying, well…

"You're trying to deduce my sincerity." Loki mutters softly then, fingers tightening over his thin arms. "You think I'm lying and… and dangerous, s-somehow. You are trying to catch me in a lie."

The observation gives both Steve and Natasha pause. Steve glances to her, seeing her expressionless mask momentarily falter, revealing her surprise, before it falls easily back into place.

"That's not…" she starts, but Loki cuts her off.

"I know not w-what I've done to s-so win your ire, nor why you think me s-so vile when you do not know me and I do n-not know you, but… but I am being forthright in my answers to you. I know you not, nor why you should think I've before been to your N-New York."

Finally, he turns back to her, his eyes overbright, but he holds her gaze, still shrunken in on himself.

"I… I don't remember how I came to be here." He says, and his voice sounds small and frightened. "I last remember being in my rooms, i-in Asgard. Mm-my Mother was there. She was… was speaking to me. F-Father too and then… then I woke here, in Midgard. What happened between those two moments, I know not either. I was alone and wandered for several days, I think. And then there were some boys and they… they…"

His voice trails off here, and he looks away.

Steve finally decides to intercede, reaching out and placing a hand on Loki's shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Alright," he says. "I think that's enough questions for now."

Natasha looks like she's about to argue, but Steve doesn't give her the chance.

"Hey, Loki, how about you go get cleaned up and try on one of your new outfits, and I'll make us some breakfast?"

"A-alright." Loki agrees after a moment, shooting one last, wary glance at Natasha before sliding off his chair and disappearing down the hallway, towards his bedroom.

Steve waits until he hears the door close before he stands, gesturing for Natasha to follow him to the kitchen.

Once there, he leans back against the counter, arms folded across his chest, leveling his teammate with a hard stare.

Natasha stands opposite him, arms also folded, holding his gaze.

"So?" Steve starts, waiting to hear what she has to say.

Natasha continues staring at him a long moment, before her stance finally seems to relax somewhat and she glances away, shrugging.

"He's hard to get a read on." She says flatly. "He doesn't seem to be lying but…"

"But what Natasha?" Steve cuts her off. "He isn't lying, and you know it, you just don't want to believe it."

"And maybe you want to believe it a little too much Steve." She shoots back, before sighing, shaking her head. "Look, I'm just trying to do my job, and trying to protect this planet. Whether he's really this child he appears to be or not, the fact remains, he's still a dangerous war criminal, and letting him run loose is a major risk."

Steve sighs too, frustrated and angry.

He brings his hands to his temples, rubbing them, closing his eyes as he tries to think.

"I know that 'Tash, it's just…" he shakes his head, looking at her. "if you could've seen him before. He was so confused, and scared, and… he's just a little kid. I know you have doubts, but I'm telling you."

"I know it seems convincing Steve," Natasha counters. "but you have to remember who we're dealing with. He's _smart_. I don't know if he's playing some game with me or…"

She stops when she sees Steve smirking at her, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips.

"What?" She snaps.

"He isn't playing a game Natasha." He answers easily. "You just can't believe he saw through your own. Yeah, he's smart. Smart enough to see when someone else is trying to manipulate him. I know you think we're dealing with the same man we did before, but 'Tash, we're not. Whoever Loki was before he… went crazy, this is it. Listen, I don't know how this happened, or how he got to be this way. But I do know that very few of us on this team were denied second chances when we needed them, and I just think it would be nothing short of hypocrisy to deny anyone else that. Even Loki."

For a long while then, Natasha eyes him, her expression, as usual, impossible to read.

Steve feels his nerves thrumming, trying to keep his anxiousness from his own features, waiting for her to respond.

Finally, she straightens, her jaw tight.

"Alright." She says. "Alright. For the time being, I'll assume this whole little kid thing is legit. But Steve, you know I'm going to have to bring him in eventually. Fury knows, and he isn't going to drop it."

"And what if the team offers to look after him?" Steve counters. "Think about it. What happens when Thor comes back? Something tells me he wouldn't be very happy to find out SHIELD put his little brother into a holding cell. His little brother who's _actually_ a child and scared out of his mind."

Natasha smirks at him then, shaking her head.

"You know Rogers," she says. "you're not half bad at mind games yourself. Look, I can't promise anything, but I'll pitch it to Fury and see what he says. In the meantime, I need you to keep Loki in your sight and don't let him out of this apartment unless you're with him. Got it?"

Steve nods, trying to keep a lid on the relief which washes like a wave over him.

"Thanks Natasha." He says.

"Save it soldier." She tells him. "You and the kid aren't out of the wood yet."

/

**AN: Merry belated Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Things are finally starting to progress forward a little. And as always, thank you so much to all my reader and/or reviewers! You keep me motivated to go on writing these things!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Loki is scared.

Well, no, nix that, Steve thinks. Loki is pretty well terrified, clinging to the pant of his leg, small hands white knuckled as he grips the material and keeps his face pressed against it as they ascend upward in the elevator, taking them quickly towards the penthouse suit of Avengers Tower.

It's too soon for this, the captain worries. Too soon to be putting the kid through this kind of stress.

But he really doesn't have much of a choice, and he knows it. Not with Fury and SHIELD breathing down his neck. Coming down between the two, letting SHIELD get their hands on this kid, or revealing the situation to his teammates and hoping for the best, he's going to go with the latter every time.

Loki, though, wasn't too happy with the plan, and it had nearly broken his heart in two, having to listen to the boy cry as he begged the captain, pleading that he just wanted to stay with Steve until he could find Thor and get back home.

Steve had had to explain to him the situation as best as he could without revealing the details of why it was SHIELD would consider Loki a hostile or at all dangerous. At the best of times, Steve was a terrible liar, and he knew that Loki saw through his BS. Saw that he was hiding something. Steve thinks now that's the reason for the kid's worry and fear. He knows he's being lied to, and he thinks something awful is going to happen.

It had culminated last night when, a few hours after getting Loki to bed finally, Steve had heard his own bedroom door creak open, and seen the boy shuffle in, blanket clutched to his chest and, even in the dim light, cheeks obviously wet with tears.

He'd muttered almost inaudibly to the captain that he was having nightmares and he couldn't sleep, and then asked timidly if he could be allowed to sleep with Steve. Steve had told him of course, feeling awful already for everything, and Loki had crawled in with a little help being lifted from the floor, proceeding then to press himself against the captain's side, burying his face against his chest.

The boy had fallen asleep fairly quickly after that, but his continuous, soft mummers and cries through the night, and his restless movement, told Steve clear enough Loki still suffered from night terrors.

As did the child's drowsy eyed sleepiness earlier this morning. Steve had had a hell of a time getting Loki to actually wake up.

Now the captain finds himself with his arm around Loki's trembling shoulders, shushing him quietly and telling him with repeated assurance that it's going to be okay.

And it will be. He has to believe that. None on his team, he thinks, would be so heartless as to turn away a child in need.

Quicker than he realizes it, they've reached the towers upper floors, where Steve knows the rest of the team will be waiting. Earlier, he'd put the call in to them to convene, pending an urgent matter he needed to discuss with them.

They hadn't questioned him on it, each in turn telling him no problem. But as the elevator doors slide open, and he has to gently usher Loki out into the waiting corridor, Steve feels his own sense of nervousness and uncertainty.

If they react negatively or, somehow, reject the idea of looking after Loki, he doesn't know what he's going to do.

He tries to push those thoughts and fears down though, as he guides the boy in the right direction. Loki's such a smart, and obviously very sensitive kid. If Steve is feeling worried, the boy will no doubt pick up on it right away, and in turn only worsen his own fear.

At the very threshold of the living area, where already Steve can hear his teammates talking, Loki finally halts, digging his heels in and pulling with surprising strength back on Steve's shirt sleeve.

"S-Steve Rogerson, wait, please…"

Steve glances down at the boy, seeing him staring back up at him with wide, nakedly frightened eyes, too large in his pale, thin face.

"It's okay Loki." Steve tries to smile encouragingly. "Remember, I told you, these guys are my friends. They won't hurt you."

"As… a-as the lady with hair like fire is your friend?" Loki asks, voice reedy and soft. "D-did she not intend to take me from you?"

Steve feels his lips thin as his jaw tightened.

Lying to Loki outright was stupid and pointless, and so he wasn't even going to try. Bending the truth, though, while still something he hated doing, was, in this case, unfortunately necessary.

"She did, that's true." He admits. "But it's only because she thought you were someone you aren't. And when she realized that, she also realized her mistake. She doesn't want to hurt you either Loki."

Loki's look is disbelieving at best, almost betrayed looking at worst.

"… I'm scared." He finally admits, his voice hardly a whisper, eyes flickering away to stare at the floor.

Steve feels his heart sink, and instinctively, he gives Loki's shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"I know you are little buddy." He says. "But you have my word, alright? No one's going to hurt you, or take you away from me. But right now, it's the safest thing for you to stay here with my friends. And I'll be here too. I'm not going anywhere."

Loki nods, eyes still fixed away from the captain, saying nothing.

Steve sighs, taking his arm from around the boy's shoulders and offering his hand for Loki to grab hold, which Loki, after a moment's hesitation, does.

The captain finds himself hesitating briefly himself before taking a deep breath, and finally stepping forward, through the automatic, sliding glass doors and into the living space.

As he does, all conversation immediately comes to a halt, leaving the room in a weighted silence.

Behind him, he feels Loki's free hand once more bury in the material of his pants, his hand in Steve's own squeezing noticeably tighter and his face pressing into the captain's hip.

The eyes of his teammates and friends fall upon him, and, moments later, almost as one, he sees them slide to the child at his side, hidden slightly behind his frame.

Predictably, of course, it's Tony who breaks the silence.

"Hey Spangles!" He starts up, voice, as always, hyper and almost cutting. "Whatcha' got there? Looks suspiciously like a kid to me. And, I don't know if you know, and I know this is _technically_ a shared living space and all, but… well, I still pay all the bills, and rule number one. No kids. For… _obvious_ reasons. Kids are just… yuck."

Steve finds himself frowning automatically, his own mouth coming open to respond.

Before he can, Bruce interjects.

"Tony, stop being a dick." He says.

Tony looks to him, feigning shock and hurt, pressing his palm to his chest.

"Me? A dick? Surely you jest, good doctor!" He grins wide, waggling his eyebrows.

Natasha, Steve notices, isn't here.

Right. Of course. She'd leave it to him to explain the whole thing.

Clint, however, is, and he's staring at Loki with something much too close to recognition.

Immediately the captain's nerves return, and he forces himself to straighten, pushing the apprehension down.

"Come on kiddo." He says softly, so that only Loki can hear, giving his hand a gentle tug to urge him forward.

He feels Loki resist for only a moment, before following haltingly behind, face still buried against his hip.

"Hey guys." Steve starts, trying to keep his voice level and clear. "I'm glad you all could make it."

"For you America the Beautiful? Anything." Tony says, and Steve has to force himself not to roll his eyes.

"What's this about Steve?" Bruce says, voice serious to contrast with Tony's perpetually light tone.

Clint hasn't said anything yet, which is unusual, Steve knows. Normally, he's as wise cracking as Tony himself.

Steeling himself, Steve takes a deep breath, letting go of Loki's hand and again putting his arms around the boys shoulder.

"Guys, I… I want you to meet somebody." He starts, hoping his sounds more confident than he currently feels. "He's… I hope he'll be staying with us for a while, and…"

His voice trails off as he sees the mix of perplexed and disbelieving faces before him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Cap, did you not just… hear what I said?" Tony starts after a moment, standing up from his seat. "I specifically said no kids. As in… no kids. That's a policy. I think I even have it written down in the renters… tenants… contract, whatever."

"Who is he?" Clint finally speaks, his eyes moving to Steve, sharp and almost hostile.

"He's…" Steve starts, then stops, minding stalling up as he struggles to find the words to explain.

"S-Steve Rogerson…" Loki breaths, staring up at him with worried, pleading eyes.

Whatever plans Steve had had to ease his friends into the situation go immediately out the window.

"Wait, did he just say…" Tony starts, only to be cut off by Clint.

"Rogers _son_?!" He snaps, voice worryingly alarmed.

"Listen, guys…" Steve starts, pushing Loki farther behind him as he does.

"Isn't that, like, an Asgardian thing? That's how Thor always refers to all of us. Son this and daughter that, whatever." Tony talks over him.

"Th-Thor?" Loki pipes up behind him, suddenly inching closer to the captain's side. "Y-you know my brother?"

There's so much awful hope in the kid's voice, that for a moment, Steve forgets to be horrified that Loki's pretty much completely blown any chance he might have had to make the situation go smoothly. He finds himself desperately wanting to reassure the boy again. To comfort him.

Only moments later he's again jerked back to reality.

"Your _brother_?!" Clint barks, and at once the archer is up off the couch, glaring at Loki with utter, terrifying contempt.

Bruce is standing seconds following, looking strained and concerned as his gaze moves between Steve and the boy.

"What's going on Steve?" He asks. "Who is that boy?"

Again, Loki robs him of the chance to explain.

He steps forward, completely out from behind Steve's protection, holding his head high and announcing in an only slightly trembling voice…

"I am L-Loki of Asgard." He says. "S-second son and prince of O-Odin All-Father and Queen Mother F-Frigga, b-brother of Thor, god of ss-storms and thunder."

For another, agonizingly long moment, a heavy weight falls on the room, everyone staring, stunned and horrified at the little boy at Steve's side.

Again, it's Tony who speaks first.

"What the actual fuck." He says, eyes fixed on Loki. "No, like, what the fuck Cap?" He turns his gaze towards Steve.

Loki's arms come up, wrapping round himself. He doesn't move from his spot, still looking at the Avengers expectantly.

"Please," he says quietly. "I… i-if you know where Thor is, I… I would like v-very much to see him. I… I want to go home."

"Guys, listen to me…" Steve starts again, holding his hands up and stepping forward, but again, Clint cuts him off.

"So it's true." He says, and abruptly, he's stepping forward, stance almost threatening. "Tash said something about you being spotted with some kid. Said Fury was all in a tizzy over it. Wouldn't tell me why though. Said she had to confirm it first."

"Clint, look, just…" Steve says.

In a flash, the archer's cross the space between them, and before the captain can even, truly react, he's got Loki by the arm, tugging him roughly forward.

Loki cries out in fear and alarm, and for a moment, Steve can only stare, gape mouthed and horrified.

Clint's his friend and comrade. And though he knows the archer's still suffering immensely from what was done to him, he didn't for a moment think he would me so upset as to perpetrate violence against a child.

But then, Steve had thought he'd have a chance to explain.

Clint's grip is crushingly hard along Loki's birdlike wrist, Steve can see that, and quick as a snake, his other hand shoots up, fingers burying in the boy's hair, pulling harshly.

Again, Loki cries out, voice pitched high is absolute terror now, eyes shutting against the pain.

"I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, you piece of _shit_! What you did to Cap to make him think you're harmless…" Clint spits inches from the child's face. "But you ain't foolin' anyone."

"Clint, let him go!" Steve finally snaps out of his shock, stepping forward and reaching out.

Clint's eyes flick to him only briefly, flashing with rage, before snapping back to Loki.

"Like hell Cap. I'm takin' him to SHIELD. Fury'll take care of his ass."

Loki's chest is rising and falling in rapid, panicked breathes now, face stricken in naked fear, tugging vainly on Clint's grip, trying to break free.

"Clint, let him GO!" Steve shouts, panicking himself, and without thinking, he grabs hold of the archer's arm, gripping hard.

"Fuck, Cap, that _hurts_!" Clint growls, but he doesn't relent his own hold of Loki.

"You're hurting _him_!" Steve spits back, nodding towards Loki.

"So _fucking what_!?" Clint shouts in return.

"Guys…" Someone behind them Bruce starts, sounding worried.

"So he's just a child!" Steve yells. "Let him go!"

"You're fucking joking, right?" Clint says, sounding incredulous. "Steve, he's not _really _a kid. You aren't this stupid!"

Steve grits his teeth, his fingers digging harder into Clint's skin.

"Let him go now Clint, before I make you." He says, voice hard and flat.

"You're fucking insane…" Clint starts, and Steve glances at Loki, seeing his eyes bright, tears coursing fast and relentless down his face.

"Clint…" He starts, and then all at once, Loki yanks his wrist free, the pull hard enough to drag Clint forward and knock him off balance, the archer crashing hard to his knees.

Loki's eyes are wide as saucers, and he stumbles back himself, chest heaving. His gaze darts back and forth between Clint and Steve, and then to the others, frenzied and terrified.

"Loki…" Steve begins, taking a cautious step towards the boy, hands held up and out.

And then his vision is blinded as a bright flash of green and white light fills his eyes, forcing him to turn his face away, his arm coming up instinctively to shield himself.

"Mother fucker!" Clint shouts.

Steve blinks rapidly, trying to clear his sight.

There's a smell like ozone and pine filling the air, and when he at last regains his vision and looks, Loki is gone completely.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

He stumbles out from the spaces in between, gasping sharply as a wave of dizziness spins his head, and he doesn't even realize he's falling until his knees hit the ground, hard, and he has to catch himself on his hands.

He feels sick, like he may expel, and he can't stop shaking. Fear is like a led weight in the pit of his stomach, his eyes stinging sharply, vision blinded by the tears which refuse to stop welling.

It's weak. He knows it's weak, and he's acting truly pathetic and cowardly. Shame burns at his face, thinking about how disappointed Father would be, and Mother too, though she wouldn't say it, and… and Thor.

He knows he should have stood his ground. Knows he should have shown courage and not run away like he had. Like he had with those older boys who'd chased him… it was only… only he was so scared and he didn't think and…

He shakes his head, trying to compose himself, wiping the back of his hand against his eyes.

The floor beneath him is strangely smooth, almost like steel, and he realizes suddenly he doesn't know where he is. Where he's teleported to.

Mother keeps warning him about that. About teleporting without knowing precisely his path. It's easy to get lost, she's said. Easy to end up in dangerous places. She's told Loki repeatedly too that he isn't yet strong enough to attempt teleporting more than very short distances, although she says he's very advanced for his age.

He understands now what she means though, as another wave of dizziness hits him hard, the room spinning in nauseating circles, his vision, for a moment, blacking out.

He can feel himself falling forward, a choked cry slipping past his lips as his forehead hits the hard ground.

For a moment then, all Loki can do is lye there, as wave after wave of dizziness continues to overwhelm him, and he can't help it, he begins to weep in earnest, pitiful whimpering noises squeezing up from his throat as he tries fruitlessly to stifle his sobs.

He curls in on himself, knees to his chest and arms about them, clamping his lids tight and burying his face to the cold, strange floor.

He doesn't know where he is, the air feels cool and, somehow, artificial.

Steve Rogerson lied. He lied about his friends. He said they wouldn't hurt him and… and they did. That one man had squeezed his wrist so tight. It… it hadn't really hurt all that much, really. But Loki knew what it felt like when someone grabbed you with the intent to harm and… and that man had wanted to hurt him, he's certain of it.

Why had Steve Rogerson lied? He had seemed such an honorable, kind man.

Maybe he hadn't? Maybe he'd truly believed his friends would like and accept Loki, as he had. And as always, just as with Thor's friends, it was Loki himself who'd caused their anger and hatred. Thor's friends were all really mean to him too. And they always hurt him when Thor wasn't looking. He knew Thor didn't know it. That he also believed his friends were Loki's. Mayhap that was Steve Rogerson's belief too. Or had been, before that man had attacked him.

He hopes so. He likes Steve Rogerson very much. He reminds him of Thor, in some ways.

Thor… he… he wishes Thor were here. Oh, he wants to go home so badly. He misses his brother and Mother and Father. He's so confused. He doesn't know how he came to be here, why this is happening. And if Steve Rogerson's friends find him, they'll… they'll…

He doesn't know what they'll do. They'll beat him up for sure. They'll hit him a lot. Maybe even _kill him_.

Oh, he doesn't want to die. He doesn't. If he dies now, like this, he'll never get to go to Valhalla. He'll never see his family again.

Oh, he wants Thor. Why can't Thor come?

A muffled sob wracks his frame again, and he curls tighter in on himself.

"Please Thor…" he whispers quietly to himself. "I need you."

Only Thor doesn't come.

Instead, Loki feels, suddenly, an oppressive, nauseating weight in the air about him, a high-pitched thrum filling his ears, making his head throb in overwhelming pain.

He gasps loudly, arms uncurling and hands coming to his head, gripping the sides helplessly. His eyes snap open, vision swimming, and at once it's like he can't even breathe, chest restricting and it's wrong, all _wrong_! Like some impossible weight settling over his insides, holding him down.

Tears stream freely and ceaselessly from his eyes, and another, strangled sob escapes him.

What's happening?! What's wrong with him!?

Panic overtakes him, and without thinking, he tries again to teleport away from there, to anywhere. Any place else.

Only his magic won't respond to him now. He can feel it's spark light for less than an instant before shriveling up and lying down, dormant, inside of him.

Panic turns to outright terror, his eyes widening, and frantically, he scrambles to his hands and knees, gasping again for breath as he crawls blindly forward.

His magic has never failed to respond to his call! It's never… never abandoned him…

He continues to scramble forward, towards some clunky, ugly looking table, forcing himself to keep going until he's situated beneath it, where he again curls in on himself, knees to chest, arms wrapped uselessly about himself. He buries his face against his knees and cries, consumed by fear and confusion.

He wants to go home. Oh, gods, how does he get out of this place? Where is his family? Father would never let him travel to Midgard alone. Or… or any realm.

"Mama…" He whimpers, but he already knows she can't hear him.

/

"Oh, well that's just great!" Clint throws his hands up in the air. "The bastard could be anywhere now!"

"Well if you hadn't lost it like that, then he wouldn't have gotten scared and felt the need to run away!" Steve snaps in return, angry and disgusted and afraid.

"Oh, man, come on!" Clint spits. "You're gonna blame me? You're the one who brought that lunatic in here like Little Orphan Annie! I can't believe you'd be so stupid Cap. He probably planned on the whole thing and is God knows where, wreaking havoc somewhere in the tower!"

"Now wait just a minute…" Steve starts, finger pointed at the archer accusingly.

"Guys…" Tony starts, but the two men don't seem to hear him, continuing to argue back and forth, the volume of their voices steadily rising with each word.

"GUYS!" Tony finally yells over them and they stop, turning towards him with bemused expressions.

"What?" Clint asks, agitated.

"JARVIS says he's in the lab." Tony replies, flippant and easygoing as ever.

"In the lab?!" Clint shouts. "Near the suits?!"

"Yup." Tony nods. "But don't worry, I've initiated protocol six. He shouldn't be any trouble. Well, unless he decides to go all grown-up on us again and starts dismantling things with his hands. But still, he won't be able to steal anything or…"

"Protocol six?" Steve starts, alarm gripping his insides.

"Yeah. You know. It's something I started working on right away after our first encounter with the Brother Grim. Magic suppressor technology. Granted, it's in its early stages, but I was able to get a read on the energy signature of Loki and calibrate it specifically to him, if he should ever come poking around again. Just a precaution, and I haven't figured out how to make it into a portable device. But it should do the trick for now."

Steve barely keeps himself from bursting into a sprint and heading then and there for the lab. He sucks in a deep breath, jaw clenching tight before he forces himself to breathe.

"Will it hurt him?" He asks, trying to keep himself composed, feeling himself fail as panic begins to edge up on him.

"Uhh… it shouldn't?" Tony answers, sounding anything but sure. "I haven't exactly tested it on anyone yet though, so…"

That's all Steve needs to hear before he's off, running for the stairwell, having no patience or time for the elevator.

"Hey, CAP!" He hears Tony shout behind him, but he doesn't stop.

This is all his fault. Christ, why had he thought this would be a good idea?! And Loki had already been so afraid. Had wanted so badly not to come here, and Steve had promised him it would be safe. Had given his word nothing bad would happen…

He shoves the thoughts from his mind, barreling through the door at the end of the stairwell, leading to a hallway. From there, it's just a short distance to Tony's main lab, and Steve sprints the entire distance, skidding to a halt just outside the glass doors and frantically punching the key code in.

A loud beep sounds, and then the hissing of the air compressed lock as Steve pulls the door wide, bursting through and into the lab.

His eyes scan almost frantically over the space, searching, seeing at first nothing.

"Loki!" He calls, his heart thudding painfully against his ribcage, fear blooming like something sick in the pit of his stomach, working up into his throat.

"Lo…" he starts again, and then freezes, hearing a muffled sob, the clear sound of a child weeping.

He listens harder, and it doesn't take him long to locate where the sound is coming from, maneuvering around the various work tables and equipment littered about the space, until he comes to one nearer to the back.

It's coming from underneath, and slowly, Steve lowers himself down onto his knees, peering beneath the table, and there he finds Loki, curled in upon himself, face pressed to his knees and crying, trembling visibly.

The first thing the captain feels is relief, exhaling loudly and head drooping forward.

He'd been so scared that… that… he doesn't even know. He'd just been terrified.

Only his relief is short lived as he looks more carefully at the boy, and realizes the depth of his distress.

"Loki," he starts softly, reaching out a cautious hand, laying the tips of his fingers along the kid's shoulder.

Loki flinches violently at the contact, so hard he smacks the back of his head against the desks metal backing, the impact thudding loudly. Steve cringes, his teeth clacking together as he falls forward, his other hand reaching out and resting atop Loki's crown.

"Hey, hey, hey," he starts. "it's alright. It's okay. Calm down little man. It's just me."

Loki stares back at him, eyes wide and red with tears, face wet and lined in what seems pain, cheeks flushed red.

It's then that Steve realizes the kid's thrown up, the remnants of that morning's breakfast smeared across the front of Loki's t-shirt and splattered across his pants.

"Oh, you poor kid." The captain breathes, scooting closer. "Come here. Let's get you out of here."

"It h-hurts." Loki stammers suddenly, face crumpling as fresh tears well in his eyes and slip down his cheeks.

Steve frowns, heart sinking.

"What hurts?" He asks, apprehension building.

"T-t-the air. It hh-hurts. I cc-can't reach my magic." Loki sobs, and at once, he's thrown himself forward, skinny arms wrapping around Steve's neck, burying his face to the captain's chest, crying raggedly. "I want m-my Mama. I want to go h-home." He weeps desperately, and Steve can feel his own eyes sting.

"JARVIS," he calls. "turn off whatever it is that's suppressing his power."

"I am sorry, Captain Rogers. Only Sir and Miss Pott's has the necessary clearance to disable protocol six."

"He's in pain!" Steve nearly shouts, anger and frustration and fear mixing together in a rage. "Turn it off!"

"I am sorry, Captain Rogers." The AI begins to repeat.

Steve doesn't bother listening to the rest, standing abruptly, taking Loki up with him.

"Come on Loki," he says, supporting the boy underneath with his arm. Loki's legs wrap automatically about the captain's waist, face pressing into his shoulder. He's shaking almost violently, still crying.

They've only made it halfway across the lab before he feels the child shudder viciously, and a moment later, he's throwing up again, though it isn't much, a clear liquid bile soiling further Steve's shirt. It doesn't matter. His clothes were already mussed up from holding Loki against him.

All the matters is getting the kid out of here.

"It's alright. Don't worry about that. It's alright." Steve shushes him, rubbing a hand up and down Loki's back as he continues towards the labs exit, Loki crying harder again. Probably from embarrassment, Steve thinks. "We'll get you out of here and get you cleaned up."

By the time they reach the main floor of shared apartments open to members of the team, Loki has calmed some, though he still clings to Steve with desperation. He's terrified, and the captain can't even question why. He knows why. Knows it's his own fault.

"We're almost there little buddy." He says reassuringly against Loki's ear.

They've nearly made it when Steve hears the lifts open behind him, and a moment later, Tony's voice calling out to him.

"Uh, hey, Cap!"

Steve freezes, and he feels Loki tense in his arms. Almost immediately, the boy's breathing becomes shallow and too rapid, and once more, he begins crying.

Steve tries shushing him gently, holding him tighter against him and murmuring reassurances into his ear.

He can hear Tony coming up behind them, another two pairs of footsteps to accompany, and for a moment, he closes his eyes, trying to compose himself.

The last thing Loki needs is a shouting match between him and his teammates.

Finally, he turns, keeping Loki's face pressed against his shoulder.

Tony, Clint and Bruce are standing there, staring back at him with what would at any other time be comical expressions of bewilderment, if the situation itself weren't so precarious and strained.

"What the heezy flag boy?" Tony starts. "What's going on?"

"Yeah Steve, what the fuck?!" Clint snaps behind him.

At the sound of the archer's voice, Steve feels Loki begin to shake all the more violently, a strangled sob escaping his lips. The captain grits his teeth, anger flaring in his chest.

"You're going to need to step back." He says, voice firm and unyielding. "All of you."

That seems to bring them up short, Tony's eyes going wide and Clint scowling. Bruce, as ever, remains calm, though his expression is more strained than normal.

"Whoa, Cap, what's all this abou…" Tony starts to ask, but Steve cuts him off sharply.

"Why don't the two of you actually look and _see_ for a minute." He says. "Look at Loki."

It takes several, long seconds before either Tony or Clint slide their gaze from him to the boy in his arms.

"Don't you two bozos see how scared he is?" Steve goes on heatedly. "The both of you have managed in the space of less than half an hour to really _hurt _him. He's just a kid, for crying out loud."

"He's not _just a kid_!" Clint snaps then, stepping forward. "He's…"

"Clint, be _quiet_." Steve cuts him off. He's had it now. "I'm the head of this team. That means I'm in charge. That means you all take orders from me. And right now, my orders are for you and Tony to back the hell up. Fury already knows by now about what's going on, and so we'll discuss this later. At the moment, I've got a child here who needs cleaning up and looking after. Whatever that thing is you built Tony, it made him sick and physically hurt him."

Tony scoffs, looking incredulous.

"I don't see how that could be." He begins to defend. "All it does is send out high-frequency electrical waves designed to counteract his energy signitu…"

"It hurt him Tony. He was crying when I found him, threw up twice." Steve, again, interrupts, having none of it. He switches his gaze to Bruce then.

"Bruce, I want you with me. Loki needs to be given a physical exam, to make sure nothing more is wrong."

For a moment, the doctor looks startled, eyes going wide.

"Uhh…" he starts.

Steve doesn't give him a chance to say yes or no, simply turning on his heel and heading back towards his rooms, Loki still held in his arms.

He hears Tony and Clint sputtering indignantly at his back, but he ignores them, keeping on his course, feeling a vague wave of relief when he hears Bruce's footsteps following slowly behind a few moments later.

/

**AN: As always you guys, thank you so much to everyone who's read and/or reviewed! You mean the world to me, and I hope you continue to enjoy. Thor's going to be showing up soon, probably within the next two chapters!**


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